This article aims to
bring a new angle to the literature by joining ‘rightful resistance’ of O’Brien
and ‘third realm’ of Huang. It questions whether rightful resistance is a third
realm or not. The main thesis is that rightful resistance is a discursive third
realm. This thesis is expounded in five parts. After the introduction of
‘rightful resistance’ in the first part; in the second part, civil society and
public sphere as first alternatives coming to mind are examined in terms of
applicability and conceptualization. It is argued that such applications and
conceptualizations have some difficulties preventing the accurate grasp of the
reality because of the historical baggage and ambivalent definitions of the
concepts. In the third part, Huang’s concept of ‘third realm’ is delineated. In
the fourth part, it is explained how rightful resistance constructs a third
realm. It is claimed that this is a discursive third realm since the
construction is realised through the discourse. Besides, feasibility of
rightful resistance’s operationalization is discussed. Fragmented
authoritarianism is suggested to make an efficient third realm for resisters
possible. In the last part, these arguments are demonstrated through the Wukan
Incident. In the conclusion, some potential criticisms are handled.

Lieberthal, K. (1992). Introduction: the ‘Fragmented Authoritarianism’ Model and Its Limitations. in Kenneth Lieberthal and David Lampton (eds), Bureaucracy, Politics, and Decision Making in Post-Mao China. University of California Press, 1-30.